Gold smuggling case | ED attaches assets worth over Rs 34 crore of actor Ranya Rao

Bengaluru: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday announced that they have attached immovable properties valued at Rs 34.12 crore in a case involving transnational gold smuggling and laundering of its proceeds by Harshavardini Ranya, alias Ranya Rao, and her associates.

The immovable properties are located in Bengaluru and Tumakuru. The attachments include a residential house in Victoria Layout, Bengaluru; a residential plot in Arkavathy Layout, Bengaluru; industrial land in Tumakuru District; and agricultural land in Anekal Taluk, with a combined fair market value of ₹34.12 Crore.

The 33-year-old actress was arrested upon her arrival in Bengaluru from Dubai on March 3 for carrying 14.2 kg of foreign-origin gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore on her person.

In a release, ED said that their investigations revealed that Ranya Rao, in active collusion with Tarun Konduru Raju and others, orchestrated a well-structured operation for smuggling gold into India.

“Gold was procured from suppliers based in Dubai, Uganda, and other jurisdictions, and payments were made through hawala channels in cash, thereby circumventing legal financial systems,” the ED said.

False customs declarations were filed in Dubai fraudulently declaring the destination of gold shipments as Switzerland or the USA, according to ED.

“While the actual travel of the gold smugglers was to India. Dual sets of travel documents were used, i.e., one for the declared export destination and the other for their actual arrival in India, to evade scrutiny and facilitate smuggling through Indian airports,” the central agency said.

Further, the ED investigation has revealed that the smuggled gold was sold for cash in India to jewellers and other local entities. The proceeds were subsequently laundered through further hawala remittances abroad to finance repeat consignments for smuggling more gold into India.

According to the ED, they found evidence for Ranya having coordination with foreign gold suppliers, hawala operators, and Dubai-based customs agents.

“Ranya Rao’s involvement in generating, possessing, and circulating proceeds of crime was further corroborated by her digital footprint, which includes invoices, export declarations, foreign remittance records, and recorded chats establishing her active role in the smuggling syndicate,” the ED said.

“Ranya denied knowledge of the seized gold and other assets; however, her claims were demonstrably contradicted by seized physical evidence, including customs documents bearing her name, travel and purchase records, and digital conversations,” said the central agency.

ED suspected that a public servant’s involvement might be there facilitating Ranya’s activities, as she was assisted at the airport on her arrival and said that it was under scrutiny.